Untitled
by Nueemann
Summary: Full Summary Inside: Starts around the attack on St. Vladimir's during Shadow Kiss.
1. Chapter 1

_**Don't expect updates for this to come at an even pace. I write quick, but not so much recently.**_

_**This is being written as a time killer, while I am trying to cure my Writer's Block and waiting for Spirit Bound to be released.**_

**Now, to set this story up, let me make a few things clear. This story picks up just before the attack on St. Vladimir's in Shadow Kiss, everything is normal, except that Rose is gone. She was taken by Strigoi between Frostbite and Shadow Kiss during a trip somewhere, I am not stating where, use your imaginations. Everyone has assumed her dead, and most have moved on with their lives, easier said than done for Lissa. Try to picture EVERYTHING as normal, except for Rose being gone. It will make this a bit easier to read. I thought of this idea in school the earlier today (hence the name), and the story may be a little out of whack and there will likely be plot holes. So, please don't critisise to much, I am not trying to make the same quality of story as my other FanFics, this one is just to help me along. I am only posting it because I like posting stuff to see the response.**

**ANYWAYS, time for the Prologue!**

Prologue - Remembering Roza

_Dimitri POV_

Things don't always stay the same. Pretty common logic right? I wish it was flawed logic.

It has been only a month or two since Rose was taken from us, and despite what people keep telling me, forgetting her is not becoming easier over time. It is nice that the no one else knew how deep our relationship was, otherwise people would be trying to comfort me, and I am happier to be left alone. You never know how much it hurts to lose someone you truly love until it happens, and I cannot describe how hard this all has been. The only one more upset than me has been Lissa, at even the mention of flowers, she begins crying, because anything to do with Rose just upsets her. Hell, I can relate. I suppose that if I didn't have this job to distract me, I would be in deep depression, and likely getting close to suicide. I hate to say it, but my job, which involves putting my life on the line to keep people safe, who essentially take me for granted, is keeping me alive. Pretty ironic, huh? But, I suppose it isn't _who_ I'm protecting as it is _what _I am protecting them from.

_Strigoi._

Those things are abominations, they all deserve to burn. Fast, strong, immortal vampires who exist essentially to cause pain and suffering for everyone else, sometimes even their own kind. It's funny how everyone thinks that burning them is as simple as throwing a match at them, and that they will just light up like a tank of gasoline, it isn't. They will burn, sure, but just as much as you or me. It's just that their bodies can't heal burn marks, so they die quickly from them. Same for decapitation, some people think their heads will snap off like toothpicks, they don't. It can take three or four hits with an _axe_ just to get it off.

But, again, I suppose that so long as the Strigoi are a threat, I will keep protecting the Moroi from them. Tall, slim, weak boned, and mortal, with magical abilities, the Moroi are undoubtebly less evil then the Strigoi. They control magic from five elements, earth, fire, water, air, and spirit...

I stopped mid thought. Thinking of Spirit's magic made me think of Lissa, and of course, Rose....

I could have fallen to my knees and started crying, but I had to show those I protected that I was strong, it made them feel safer.

Some nights, or actually mornings since we run on a nocturnal schedual, I just look out my window at the vast forests surrounding the Academy, and wonder if maybe, just maybe, my sweet Roza is out there somewhere, alive.

_Or Undead....._


	2. This Changes Everything

**Usual Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any characters, etc. Those belong to Richelle Mead.**

**I know that this story will seem similar to my other ones, you know, in terms of Rose's behavior, but this one makes her particularly sadistic.**

**So, I hope you all continue to read and enjoy!  
**

**Chapter One - This Changes Everything**

_Dimitri POV_

I woke up, figuring today would be like any other day. I had border watch today, so I had to patrol a section of the Academy's warded borders in case anybody tried to slip through them. Unfourtunatly, I had to watch during the day (Night in Human World), so it would be pretty annoying walking around the woods in the dark. As I headed off to the Guardian's building for a quick meeting, I saw several students, including Lissa and Christian, headed off to classes. I smiled, knowing that they were all moving on, especially after Rose's disappearance.

The meeting was quick, Alberta simply told us what times we were on watch, what times we were participating in the Novice's Field Experience, and what time we had off to rest. I knew I had watch today, and she confirmed it. I quickly grabbed a stake from the storage room and headed out to the borders of the school. The first hour was uneventful, and then it started.

I was walking by a frozen lake at the edge of the Academy's borders, and I noticed what looked like a group of people laying on the ice, I then realized it was a group of bodies. I ran over to identify them, and noticed they were all young Royal students. (Author's Note: The Mana group, they were putting another member through initiation. Skipping class, I know, I don't care.) Worst of all, most of them showed telltale signs of a Strigoi attack. They had bruised and bloodied necks, and some of them had had various bones broken. Then, I noticed the oddest thing of all. Several of them, off in a pile by themselves, hadn't been drained of blood, they had been shot. All but three of them had a bullet hole clean between their eyes, the other three had been shot in the back, I was guessing they had tried to run. I noticed what looked like shell casings (Author's Note: a Shell Casing is what a bullet is held in until the gun fires it, the casing is then ejected out the side of the gun.) lying on the ground. They were all large caliber, made for a rifle.

This was confusing. I understood the likelihood that there were Strigoi attacking, and ran to tell the other Guardians, I was wondering who had used a gun. Then I realized that there was probably a human with them, carrying a Silver Stake to get them through the wards that bordered the school. I managed to get the school into lock down just seconds before the Strigoi descended upon us. I fought and watched as the Guardians felled Strigoi all around me. I was guarding the Moroi dorm, and it was where Lissa was, I was happy to be here, since it meant as long as I was breathing, she was safe. We fought well, and as four Guardians moved in to finish off the remaining Strigoi, one of them collapsed to the ground. One of the other Guardians spun around, and was shot. The remaining two Guardians were attacked and killed by the Strigoi. I backed into the shadows, knowing it wouldn't do much good, I hoped they would ignore me.

"Damn girl, I hate to say it, but thanks for saving my life there.", One of the Strigoi spoke to a hooded figure who moved over and gracefully threw a Scoped Hunting Rifle over her shoulder.

I wondered who this was, since they likely weren't a Strigoi, they perferred hand to hand combat.

The figure laughed, "Any of them still alive?"

The other Strigoi moved over and checked several bodies, he looked up, "This one is, you want him?"

She moved over, taking the rifle in her hands, she kicked the Guardian, who had been lying on his stomach, over and shot him between the eyes. "There, one less fool in the world. You think the rear team made it inside?"

The Strigoi who had spoken first, a blond haired guy who looked about twenty smiled, "I hope so, since there aren't enough of us left here to get in the front. See anyone you want to save for later? I mean, since you helped us so much with this, I think you should get your choice of first victim."

The figure chuckled, "No, I'd rather a living victim. Besides, I have a special man in mind."

The blond stared at her, "Someone you love more than me?"

The figure turned away, "No, if I loved them more than you, why would I want to feed from them."

He laughed again, "Good point, good point. Well, we should get moving, we could use our time better somewhere else."

The three of them walked off, and I headed inside the dorm. Replaying the conversation in my mind, there was something maddeningly familiar in that girl's voice, but I couldn't place it.

I arrived upstairs to find four Guardians and some Novices fighting off 12 Strigoi, these ones had broken in through the windows, the group out front was a distraction. I helped the Guardians out, and we managed to reduce the Strigoi down to three, only losing one Guardian in the process. Just then, I heard footsteps, and saw the same three figures as earlier, they ran up and the blond haired guy shouted, "Come on, we are leaving..", He dropped off.

The hooded figure looked at me, "Ah, Dimitri.", She whispered, "I knew that you were here somewhere." The three Strigoi that we hadn't killed yet backed off to join the other two and the figure I couldn't identify.

She took out the rifle and picked off the other Guardians with me, then, she pointed and whispered, "Take him. Oh, the Dragomir girl is in the room on the right down the hall. Should be nothing left but a group of spoiled Moroi teenagers."

Two Strigoi disarmed me and grabbed me, dragging me off towards the hooded figure. I looked up and quietly asked, "Who the hell are you?"

She looked down and whispered, "Why, I'm your one true love, and worst nightmare." She slowly lowered her hood, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

_It was Rose._


	3. Looks Change

**Hey everyone, here is the next chapter. It's a short one, but that's because most of the story is in Dimitri's Point Of View, and he is getting knocked out.**

**Make sure to let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Vampire Academy series or any of the characters. Those are Richelle Mead's.  
**

**Looks Change**

_Dimitri POV_

I think it was Rose anyway.

While it truly did look like her, there were a few differences in her appearance. She was still a Dhampir, but her skin wasn't tanned even slightly, it was almost as pale as a Moroi's. She had a cruel look on her face and in her eyes, one I had never seen before. She was also skinnier than before, likely due to not eating much. She was wearing jeans and a jacket that looked frighteningly like mine, being long and made of leather, the main difference being that hers was black and had a few blood stains around the bottom of it. She was also wearing a pair of long black boots that were almost entirely covered in blood.

She threw the rifle over her shoulder and looked at me, "Come on, you look like you don't recognize me." I stayed silent, and she spoke again, "Scared, huh? Good, just what we want."

As she said that, I heard screams down the hall, and saw two Strigoi being pushed back into the hall, they were fighting the Novices that were in the room.

"Damnit.", Rose muttered. She took aim and shot three Novices in quick succession before the other ones stopped attacking. Then, she walked over to the room. Pulling her hood back up, she aimed into the room and shouted in a voice I didn't recognize as hers, "Next person who tries to be a hero ends up shot." The two Strigoi entered the room and dragged out Lissa, they pulled her out and the blonde Strigoi with Rose shouted, "Come on, we are leaving! Take the Guardian and the Dragomir girl, and move it!"

The last thing I remembered seeing was a Strigoi bringing his fist into the side of my head.

**Be sure to review, and let me know what you think of Rose's new look!**


	4. You Are Inferior

**Hey everyone, sorry for not updating this weekend. I was busy getting my new netbook ready to go Saturday after noon, and I went to see Iron Man 2 last night. One word: Epic.**

**Anyways, regular updates should resume, so long as I don't hit any more writers blocks.**

**Thanks for all the continued support!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Academy Series or any of the characters, locations, and other content associated with it. Those are all owned by Richelle Mead.**

**Chapter Three - You Are Inferior**

When I woke up, all I saw was darkness. As my eyes adjused to the low lighting, I saw that I was in a small room, there were a few lights in the ceiling, but no lamps, and no furniture in general. The only furniture I noticed was the chair I was handcuffed to, it was, in turn, handcuffed to a railing on the wall. Lissa was similarly restrained on the other side of the room. I heard footsteps, and looked to the door. It was heavy, made of metal, and had a thick lock on it. The door opened, and Rose entered, followed by the blonde Strigoi I had seen her with the night of the attack.

The Strigoi looked at Lissa, licking his lips, he took a step towards her before Rose spoke, "Not yet, we can have some fun first."

He looked at her, smiled, and stepped back, "I suppose I can restrain myself, for now." He looked at me with a menacing stare, and I had a feeling he would enjoy taking my life just as much as Lissa's.

Rose turned and walked over to me, "Ahh, my dear dear Dimitri." She chuckled, "You know, Nathan really doesn't like you. Well, he loves me, and I love you, so that makes him hate you. It is so complicated yet so simple. Well, I hate to say it, but you will likely be dead in a few days. Whether it be by starvation or the Strigoi's hunger, I cannot say. I do not really care which way you die, and I wish I could say I am sorry, but I would never lie to you."

I felt anger building up inside me, "What in the hell happened to you? You are working with those you swore to destroy!"

She laughed, "I swore to destroy Strigoi? I don't believe that I ever did. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't make your vows until your graduation, correct? I never graduated, so I never vowed to do anything. Besides, even if they kill me, it will contribute to their survival, and that will conribute to the deaths of more Royal Moroi. I will gladly watch the deaths of a hundred Royals before I even _think_ of killing another Strigoi. They are superior hunters, deadlier than anything in the world." She moved over and ran her hand down along Nathan's face until she reached his neck, "Perfect life, eternal life. They are predators, we are prey. Daily life simplified into the natural order. We could be the predators, but the Moroi think we should be the prey, we are bound to the Moroi by the genetic faults that make us inferior to the Strigoi."

I was shocked that she would say things like this, "You are going to die as well, you know that. They have Lissa now, you are useless to them."

She walked over to me and looked me in the eyes as she smiled, "I already told you, even if they kill me, it will help them survive, and that will allow them to continue hunting Royal Families. Besides, I have essentially sold my soul to them." She smiled and headed for the door, "I am tired, and I need to rest. Enjoy your stay."

She walked out and Nathan looked at me with another menacing stare, "I do hope that after I kill you she forgets about you, for her sake."

He walked out and I knew what he meant, if she didn't forget about me after I died, he would kill her.


	5. Curiosity

**Here is the next chapter of Untitled, I hope you all enjoy it.**

**It is a bit short, I apologize, but I couldn't really make it a long one.  
**

**Chapter Four – Curiosity**

I believe that it was a few days before anyone worth paying attention to came to see us. There was the occasional guard, human usually, that would come look for a pulse and see that we were still breathing.

Then, Rose and Nathan came back.

Except this time, Rose ignored me, and focused on Lissa.

"Hey Lissa, how you doin?", Rose was smiling, and I mean she was using a kind, caring smile.

Lissa managed to look up and weakly said, "Horribly, I need to feed, food and blood, and you know it. What are you trying to do, starve us, make us suffer?"

Rose leaned over and whispered something in Lissa's ear, and Lissa managed to go even paler, and I thought that was impossible.

Lissa whispered something to Rose, and she looked at Nathan and beckoned to him. He took his eyes off me and went to Rose.

"She has questions, I can't answer them. I think you know what kind of questions I am talking about."

Nathan smiled, and leaned down to Lissa, they began whispering and over time, I began understanding.

"What's it like, I mean how do you feel?"

Nathan smiled, "It feels amazing, your senses are heightened, you become faster, stronger, the world seems more alive than ever before."

Lissa thought for a second, and asked again, "Is it instantaneous, or does it take time?"

He thought and answered back, "By choice, instantaneous, by force, you fall into a deep sleep first."

She shook her head, "No, I could never do it. I just couldn't live with it."

He smiled sweetly, and I have to say it was surprisingly sweet, "It's easy, and you wouldn't really feel anything. It's the better choice, you know it. You live, or you die. Your choice."

He stood, and Rose did the same. As they walked out, Rose turned to Lissa, "Remember Liss, you won't last much longer, you need to do it, and soon."

They exited and left me wondering what they wanted her to do, when I noticed she was looking at me with a hunger filled smile, I understood what they wanted to happen.

_An Awakening._


	6. Surpirse

**Hey everyone, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Academy series or any associated content, that belongs to Richelle Mead.**

**P.S. - Spirit Bound released in less than one week!  
**

**Chapter Five – Surprise**

As the next few days went on, we were continually starved, I wasn't doing so bad, but Lissa was in horrible condition. We both thought we really were going to die, until the day everything changed.

I heard footsteps, I knew it was Rose because the steps were slow and fairly heavy. She didn't open the door, though, she kicked it down. Lissa looked up, and I quickly assessed the situation.

First, Rose was almost covered, and I mean _covered_ in blood, her coat was almost entirely red around the bottom, and was stained all over. Her boots looked like they were soaked clean through, and her jeans were also stained. She was wearing a heavy vest over her shirt, and it was stained in a few places, I knew it was likely to reduce the force of and punches thrown at her.

She threw her rifle over her back, moved over behind me, and untied my hands.

"Wait, what are you doing?", I asked, surprised.

She sighed, "Freeing you two."

Lissa looked even more surprised, "Why are you freeing us after all that you put us through?"

Rose looked Lissa in the eyes, "I never meant for any of this to happen, it was Nathan who wanted to attack the Academy, they knew that I had the bond, I was hoping to avoid you guys all together. I've been with these Strigoi for a while, I recruited most of their Human compatriots for them. I decided I had to kill them and let you live."

I looked at her, dumbstruck, "So what, you are just going to come back to the Academy and act like none of this ever happened? They will want to punish you for the deaths of those Guardians on campus!"

Rose looked at me, tears in her eyes, "I know, I have to dissapear. I'll go live by myself somewhere, far away from you guys. I didn't want to kill all those people, but I needed to keep their trust, I couldn't attack them then, I wasn't ready." Rose chuckled, "Hell, maybe if I'm on my own, I'll get to have a few children someday."

"Rose." Lissa began. "You have to come back with us, I need you."

Rose stopped her, "No, I can't. Don't make this any harder than it already is." She tossed me a map, and a few chocolate bars. "Those should help you a bit, the map has directions back to St. Vladimir's on it. Now, go. Every Strigoi and Human here is dead, I triple checked the house. And finally," she reached into her coat and handed me a silver stake, "Just in case." She turned to walk out of the room, but stopped, she came back, grabbed me, and kissed me.

When she let go, she looked me in the eyes and whispered, "Remember, I will always love you, but I have to leave. Don't try to find me, I might return some day, if it is safe. But _do not_ try to find me, please."

Rose left, and I freed Lissa. As we walked out of the house and followed the directions on the map to find our way, I hoped that she truly would return someday.


	7. Chapter Six and Seven

**Sorry for the long wait on these chapters, I am getting slower at writing, but I hope to have a few more up this week, like maybe three or four.**

**I also apologize if some of them are short, but I am having difficulty writing long chapters.**

**I really hope to increase the lengths, I will have to go on hiatus if I can't straighten out my writing soon.**

**Anyways, thanks for the support, please continue to Review and Comment.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the VA series or any associated content, that belongs to Richelle Mead.  
**

**Chapter Six – Catching Up**

_15 Years Later_

After she finished school, Lissa decided that she would take a few courses in advanced math and history at university, now she was back at St. Vladimir's. Her and Adrian were still working on controlling Spirit, and Adrian and Christian were actually starting to get along. Things would be great, but there was one thing I just couldn't stop thinking about.

_Rose._

Every day I wondered where she was, if she was still alive, or if she even remembered us. I hoped that some day, I would see her again.

A few days passed, all the same as always, until Friday, when it finally happened.

Christian proposed to Lissa.

Lissa, of course, accepted, and the immediately began to prepare for the wedding. I was happy for Lissa, and looked forward to the wedding, it would be an opportunity for me to forget about Rose and focus on my duty.

**Chapter Seven – Wedding Guests**

The wedding was on a Sunday, being kept small and quiet.

Father Andrew, the elderly priest on campus, performed the ceremony at the school's chapel. There were only two members of Christian's family present, Tasha, and one of his cousins I had never met.

After the ceremony, I went to see Tasha, since it had been a while, and I decided to meet Christian's cousin, since he was talking to Tasha.

"Dimka, it's been so long," Tasha said as she smiled and hugged me, "How have you been?"

I shrugged, "Fine, I suppose."

Tasha's smile disappeared, "I heard about Rose. I am sorry."

"Thanks for the sympathy, I really didn't get any from people around here."

Tasha smiled again and turned to the man beside her, "This is Alexi Ozera, one of Christian's cousins, and my nephew."

He looked at me and smiled, he looked fairly handsome, with short brown hair that reminded me of Adrian's, except his wasn't as messy. I also noticed, oddly, that his eyes were different colours, one was ice blue, like Tasha's, and one was jade green, like Lissa's.

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Guardian Belikov, especially with all the praising Tasha does of you. And before you ask, I am not wearing a contact lens, I have a genetic defect, _complete heterochromia iridum, _it makes one of my eyes a different colour."

I asked politely, "Are you closely related to the Dragomir or Dashkov families?"

He nodded, "Yes, my mother is a Dashkov. While I used to be happy being related to the Dashkov family, Victor ruined it when he pulled that stunt a while back."

I saw Lissa flinch, she had heard him use Victor's name, and the memories of what he did to her were still fresh in her mind.

Tasha decided to steer us away from that topic pretty quickly, "There is something Alexi here isn't telling you," she smiled and looked at him.

With a somewhat embarrassed look on his face he said quietly, "I'm married, but it isn't accepted by a lot of people."

"What makes it so unusual?" I asked.

"I'm married to, one of you. A dhampir." He smiled, "We have two children."

I was shocked. "And how did you manage not to draw attention to marrying a Guardian?"

"I never said she was a Guardian," he pointed out.

"Let me get this straight, you are married to a Dhampir who isn't officially a Guardian? I'd gladly like to meet her."

He was quick to disagree, "No, she didn't attend the wedding specifically because of you and Vasilisa. Although she did send this with me." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out an unmarked envelope.

"What is this, a letter?", I asked.

"Yes," he replied, "she wanted me to give you a message, but she wanted to write it instead of getting me to tell you. I understood completely. And now," he said looking at his watch, "I must return to guest housing, I have a few things to attend to."

As he walked away, Tasha also left, she needed to talk to Christian and Lissa. I carefully tore open the envelope, and pulled out the letter. It was short and written in very familiar handwriting.

_Dear Dimitri and Lissa,_

_I am sorry for not attending the funeral, but there is no way I could bare to see you again. I know you would try to convince me to stay with you, but I cannot. I have responsibilities now, to both my husband, and my children. You may be amused to know I named one of them after Dimitri. I would love to see you both again some day, but now is definitely not the time. Please try to understand this, and just wait until I feel I can visit you both._

_ Best of Wishes,  
R.H_

There was a signature below the end of the letter I didn't recognize, but the initials gave it away.

R.H.

_Rosemarie Hathaway._


	8. Hard to Believe

**Here is the next chapter, important news to follow.**

**Chapter Seven – Hard To Believe**

_Dimitri POV_

As soon as I finished reading the letter, I moved towards Lissa. Passing her the letter, she looked at me confused.

"What is this?"

"It's a letter, from Alexi's wife, read it."

She unfolded the paper and read it quickly, her eyes widened as she gasped, "Does that say R.H?"

"Yes, I think it's Rose. I say we find him and get an answer."

"Sure." She turned back towards Christain, "Sorry dear, I need to take care of something. Meet you in our room in about fifteen minutes?"

Christian looked baffled and confused, "Alright then, I'll be waiting."

As we headed to the exit, we stopped and asked Tasha where he was staying in the Guest Housing.

"He isn't actually staying there. He is living in a small home near Missoula, I think. He was staying in Guest Housing just for the night. I think his wife is coming to pick him up in a few minutes." Her eyes widened a bit, "You both know, don't you."

I was shocked, "Wait, you mean you knew all this time? And you didn't tell us?" I was almost shouting.

"It was a promise I made to her. I couldn't tell you. She said she wanted to avoid you alltogether. That is was for the best."

I grabbed Lissa and headed towards the small parking lot at the base of the Academy's campus. Sure enough, Alexi was waiting there with a small bag in his hand, so we kept our distance. He looked at the horizon, it was almost sunup.

"Shit," he muttered, "Where is she?"

Just as he finished, a car I never saw before pulled into the lot. Judging by the BMW badge on the hood, it must have cost a fair amount of money. Avro headed towards it with a smile on his face as a figure I recognized instantly as Rose stepped out of the drivers side door.

Rose walked over and Avro dropped his bag as they hugged, "Oh, I missed you. Did you give them that letter?"

Avro chuckled, "Yes, I believe that they are a little confused, but they'll figure it out."  
Rose sighed, "Great. Well, we should probably go, before the sun comes up."

When Rose turned, I got my first real look at her. Her hair was long and just as beautiful as ever, and she was wearing it down over her shoulders. She was wearing a light brown jacket, and wearing jeans and runnning shoes. Her skin was tanned once again, and she looked all around georgous.

I took a few steps forward as she moved back over to the car, she noticed me. She stopped moving, and spoke softly a moment later.

"Dimitri," She gazed off to my side, "Lissa." She sighed, "Shit, I wanted to avoid this" She turned to Alexi, "Go talk to the kids, they haven't seen you in a while." He nodded, and she stepped towards us. "Why did you have to come here. I wanted to hold out on seeing you again for a few more weeks."

It wasn't me who spoke next, it was Lissa, "Come on! We haven't seen you in 15 years, and you wanted to avoid us! Why Rose. Why?"

"I don't know," She turned around, tears in her eyes, "I just had to stay away for a while. I have other commitments, and things to take care of."

Alexi walked over and spoke to Rose softly, we couldn't hear him. Rose turned and I swear a small smile appeared on her face, "Alexi wants you to meet my children. Do you want to, or save that for later?"

I didn't know what to say, "I suppose."

She moved towards the car and waved us over. She opened the door and two children got out. One was a boy, about seven years old. The other was a girl, about five.

"Dimitri, Lissa, this is Lawrence and Avina." She turned to the children, "Lissa and me have known each other for a long time, and Dimitri and me for a few years less." She looked at Alexi, "You want to take them for something to eat, I'll stay here with Liss and Dimitri for a while. They want an explination, and I may as well give it to them."

He nodded, "Come on guys, let's go to McDonalds!"

The kids cheered a bit and hopped back in the car. As Alexi moved towards the car, Rose gave him a short kiss, "Come back for me in about an hour. I should be ready then." He nodded and drove off.

As we moved back up towards the campus, I felt a sense of relief that Rose was back, but I also felt a sense of uneasyness around her. She was a different person now, and only time would tell how different she was.


	9. Catching Up

**Here is Chapter Nine of Untitled.**

**I can easily say that this will be the last chapter before June 20th. Thank you for patience.  
**

**Disclaimer - I don't own the VA series or any associated characters. Those belong to Richelle Mead.**

**Chapter Nine – Catching Up**

Rose was mostly quiet as we walked up towards the Campus's guest housing area. We figured Tasha's room was likely the best place to just sit and talk. As we walked I heard Rose softly humming a tune, and eventually began singing.

_D' you breath the name of your saviour in your hour of need,_  
_n' taste the blame if the flavor should remind you of greed,_  
_Of implication, insinuation and ill will, till' you cannot lie still,_  
_In all this turmoil, before red cape and foil come closing in for a kill_

_Come feed the rain_  
_Cause I'm thirsty for your love dancing underneath the skies of lust_

_Yeah feed the rain_  
_Cause without your love my life ain't nothing but this carnival of rust._

As we reached the guest housing, she pulled a small metal bottle from her jacket. Taking a drink, she turned and handed it to me, "Here, it'll make this all a whole lot easier."

I had no idea what it was, but I took it politely and had a small drink, it tasted vaguely familiar. While it was fruity and somewhat sweet, it was the burning sensation in my chest that was familiar.

"What is this, it seems like I've had it before."

She smiled as I handed it back to her, "A little something I make, it's mostly various fruit juices, but with just a hint of pure Russian made Vodka, just for kick."

While I was slightly upset that I had just had alcohol when I should have been alert, I knew it was mostly diluted by the juices, and wasn't going to be all that big of a deal.

As we entered the room, I was shocked by Rose's first action, which was to actually hug Tasha. I guess that over the time they've been related (God only knows how long), the tension between them dissapeared.

Tasha turned to me, "Guess you thought this was the best place to have a reunion. Well, I won't bother you." She smiled, "Much."

I smiled, and went over to where Rose was now sitting on the couch. Sitting on the chair across from her, I asked, "So, would you mind explaining a bit of how this all came to be?"

She smiled back, "Well, after the incident where I released you and Lissa from capture, I sort of roamed around the state a bit, just living as best as I could. Eventually though, I settled down for a while in a small apartment in Sheridan, down in Wyoming. I lived there for a few months, working in a coffee shop. Eventually, Avro popped in one day during his travels for buisness. He was working in Cheyenne at the time, and as soon as he came in, our eyes met. We both knew who each other truly was, race wise that is. He ordered, and after a short sit to enjoy his coffee, left. He was back a day or two around closing time and asked me if he could talk to me for a few minutes. He explained that he had his money invested in some company down near his home, and that he was looking to sort of contract me as his Guardian. Well, let me tell you, he made it clear that even if I hadn't graduated, so long as I had training, he was overjoyed to have me around. I moved down ther with him, and after a while, we fell for each other. I got pregnant and we married a month or two later. Seeing as the Ozera family hasn't been to well respected, no one really knew or cared about what we did. About a year after my first child, I had my second one, and we decided to move to Missoula, since he didn't really need to stay in Cheyenne for his investments. And, well, we lived there for about five or six years before this all happened. I don't think there is much else for me to really say. Unless you want an apology or something for taking off all those years ago."

Lissa was softly sobbing and I just looked Rose in the eyes, "I only want to know one thing, Rose. _Why?_ Why did you kill those people? Why didn't you just escape while you could?"

She started to cry and sobbed softly, "I planned on it. But I heard what they were going to do, where they were attacking. I needed to make sure they knew that you guys were there, and that it would be more useful to capture rather than kill you right then and there. I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from doing it. But I can't. Please just forgive me."

I stood up and walked over, as I put my hand on her shoulder, I whispered.

_Over time, Rose. Over time._

**Love it, hate it? Review and let me know!**

**P.S. - The song Rose was singing is Carnival of Rust by Poets of the Fall.  
**


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